Power transmission mechanism



Aug. 10, 1943.

P. WHITCOMB ET AL 2,326,508

POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Filed April 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet l 4 6 6Q 72 F j I? 1? 276713071; 2 6.53075 fi Zz'kafid fleizfy Lid gore Aug. 10, 1943.

P. WHITCQMB ET AL POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 18, 1941 m Q v i.

mw NW 172016722072; rwkn'mow H67? ,'fa l fgor'e? 6 6 W 1943- P. WHITCOMB ET AL 2,326,508

POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Filed April 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 K I I R m 5 I 4 a R. f V

m I I I\ L E L lllllllllll Aug. 10, 1943. P. WHITCOMB ET AL ANIsM POWER TRANSMISSION MECH Filed April 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 fraslommm 1943 P. WHITCOMB ET AL 2,326,508

Filed April 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 19,.1943- .P. WHITCOMB ET AL 2,326,508

POWER TRANSMIS SION MECHANISM Filed April 18, 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 IHHII ll m Eh n;

-frzziariars Patented Aug. 10,. 1943 NI E -ST T rowan TRANSR HSSIQN iiiECHANlSP/I Q Preston Whitcomb, Bridgeport; and Henry 8.. Moore, Easton, Conn, assignors-to Manning, v

v Incorporated, New York, N.'Y.,acorporationof New -.iersey I v ApplicationA'pril s, 1941, seriainaesaiee' e .3; Claims. (c te-#323); fIhis invention pertains to powertransmission .Maxwell & Moore,

mechanism and more particularly to. transmission mechanism wherein-a part, carriedby a con stantly rotating support, may be caused tomove in either of opposite directions atwill relatively to the moving support. More'specifically the inventionconcerns power transmission mechanism wherein a part, for example a gear, coaxial with a rotating support, may be caused at will to turn in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction relative to the rotation of the support and-where in power for so turning such part is received from the-rotating support. 'f

Such improved transmission apparatuswith its capability'of reversal of'direction whilefa drive 1 part continues .to turn uninterruptedlyfin one di rection,'is crummy for various purposes, for iii-i stanceasa' part of or foractuatinga variable speedtransmission or-for' the control of the re versing mechanism of 'certaintypes oi machine tool. 3 a

The principal object or the inventioniisto 'rlo vide improved powerv transmission mechanism of the above character wherein the reversible part becomesautomatically locked at" the completion of its'movement in either direction-in such a way that it is reliably prevented from-niovingfrom such position regardless of any working stress to which it may be subjected. 'Aiurtherobjectof the invention is to, provide'apparatus oi the class described wherein the final ,position'of said're; versible part after moving in either direction may 1 be accurately and easily predetermined. A' fur? ther object of the invention is to provide e ja ratus of the class described wherein the reversible; part is power actuated for moving it, in either direction but wherein the direction and extent of movement is controlled by a manually actuable 7 part which is subject to but slight kinematic load;

A further object is to provide mechanism or" this type'which is simple 'and compact, easy'to construct, easyto assemble with other mecha uism of which it is to form a part or which it is to control, and to provide mechanism of this character which is light in weight and durable.-

A further'and more specific object ofthe in-' vention is to provide improved means fo-r ad justing the parts of a variable speed pulley while the pulley is rimming and in which power for adjusting the pulley is derived ire-m the rotation of the pulley itself. V

Other and further objects and advantages .of the invention will be pointedoutghereinaiter in; the followingmoredetaileddescription and by reference to the accompanying"drawingsf broken away and with certain parts in vertical section, illustrating the improved variable trans I f missiondevice a's'e'mb'odied in a singlepulley of variable'diazneter mountedfdirectly upon the shaft of a motor? Fig-'2 is a view generallysimilar to Fig. 1, but

illustrating an'assembly wherein two pulleys of variable diameter are so'associated that thedi amete'rs of therespective pulleys arevariedf'c comitantly butiinversely so as to maintain proper tension uponthe'connecting belt; 2

Fig. 31s a fragmentary vertical pulley of Fig. 1; f

" rig-41s an'end elevation, with eertain partsin f vertical 'section on the line 4-4 of- Fig. If;

Figs; 6' to 13 inclusivejare diagrammatic views 7 illustrative of successive operative positions of partsishownin Fig.3;

Figs. l/iitotZl inclusive are illustrative of 1 the parts shown in Fig. 4-in thepositions correspondingto Figs. 6to 13, respectively;

Fig122 is a fragmentary diagrammatic eleva tic-n, looking in the same dir'ectionasFig. 3, illustrativeof an 'alternative form of mechanism [Fig 23 is a planview of certain of theparts shown in Fig. 22 and 1 v 35 Fi 24'is a diagrammatic elevation illustrating another arrangement. r i

Without limiting intent, the invention is herein illustrated; by: way of examplajas embodiedin a variable-speed pulley.

'Referring'tothe'drawings;thenumeral I desig nates generally' a' power transmission'pulleyof variable eiiective diameter. This pulleyl ,as here illustrated, isof the type more specifically shown and described in thepatent to Whitcomb No.1 2,l87;188, January 16,1940; and is mounted upon an.axial'extension.2of theshaft 3flof'ajmotor-4 having asuitable frame: includingabase 5. Brieflystated', ithe pulley l comprises two disk" memberst and 7:, respectively; each disk member having associated with it a conica'l shell 6 and 1 respectively, such shells being sheared on aspiral line so that a spiralstrip is formed the convolutionsofwhich-are free with respect to each other; 1 When the pulleyisof minimum effective diameter the innerends or the spiralconvolutionsof'th'es'e" FICE, a

Fig. 1 is aijront elevation, with team parts;

H section, to larger'scale, showing details of the variable speed" i two shells preferably slightly overlap each other. In order to increase the efiective diameter of the pulley one of these shells is rotated relative to the other so that the convolutions of the shells thread into each other, thus permitting the disks 6 and 1 to approach bodily axially of the shaft, thereby causing the V-groove between the shells to become shallower so that the belt'contacm these shells at points farther away from the axis of rotation. I

In the patented construction the adjustment of the pulley diameter is brought about byloos ening one of the disks upon the shaft and rotating it by hand upon the shaft, with which it has screw-threaded engagement, 'until the desired variation in effective diameter hasbeen obtained,

whereupon the shell is again tightened on the shaft. It is thus necessary in the patented construction to stop the pulley when it is proposed to change its efiective diameter. In accordance with the present invention such variation in diameter may be made while the pulley is operating at full speed; power for causing the actual 'shift in diameter is obtained from the sou'rceof power which turns the pullefland after the jpuled adjusting leeve l3 which has threaded en gagementwith an external thread I 4,- hone shown as a right lmnd threaxl. upon theexterior ofthe, hollow-shaft extension 2; said thread having an axial lead equal to that of the spiral shear lines in-shells fl and'lk. I g J An annular internal gear. l5, comical-with the shaft, is secured by rivets l3 to the'outer face of the disk, 7 so that as the gear is rotated the disk I and thersleeve 13m likewise turned and the sleeve is thereby moved mally aiomg the shaft. :Witimrthe central aperture inthc gear I! is arranged am annular support I! concentric with the shaft and maimed-m theshaflt at 18 (Fig. 4) so "as to turn the shaft and in mavens iflllYlOf the This support 41 hasn'periphis overlapped by an annular retainhig plate 19 which is secured to the gear 15117 means of screws 2 0,. As thus arranged the disk vI zit "1th the gear !5 the sleeve Quasar be mind upon theshaft relative to thensimport 13, although support 1! .is censtrained'to more 1xially of theshaft with the disk 1.. .A'xemomble cover C; is arranged to .flt snugly about the gear .for the adinwa chamborflfl in the. support 1| FL "The wheel is pimned to the shaft 2! a tapered pin 2 The shaft extension I is withnnielon gated slot "through which a portion of the periphery of the worm waheel 52-! zpmziects into the inteuie-r olf the strait Z?.; *This worm *wllieed 22 tame-ins. radial plane ofgthe axis of flhe'sha'ft 2. 'Ilheshaft. :2 ecu-tends to the lr'gh-t of the support I Il (asshown 4) and its eonterpart 11" awonm 25,, hone slum m of night-hand pitch. This worm 26 meshes with a worm wheel 21 located in a cavity 28 in the support I! and which is fixed to a shaft 29 parallel to shaft 2 and mounted toturn in suitable bearings 30 in the support. 29 carries a pinion 3| (Fig. 5) which meshes with the internal gear IS.

The outer'end of the hollow'shaft extension 2 is providedwith a closureplug 32 (Fig. 3) having an axial guide aperture in which slides the right-hand of a longitudinally movable actuating rod or har 33- which'extends through the V hollow shaft extension 2 and through the hol- "low'shait 3'lof th'e motor and outwardly to the left (Figlfi) beyond the end of the motor shaft and through a sleeve. 34 carried by a bracket 35 "which is secured to the frame of the motor. 'Ihisleftj-handend of the rod 33 is screw thread-' ed at 36 for engagement with internal threads formedrin the sleeve 34. The rod 33 is provided with'a keyway which' receives the inner. end of a key pin 31 seated in a bore inthebracket 35, such key pin preventingitherod 33 from turning. The sleeve is journaled torotate in the bracket-and is: provided witha hand wheel 38 whereby, it may be turned. Turning the hand wheel thus turnsfthe sleeve 34, and as the sleeve V is so journaled in the bracket that it cannot move axially, the rod 33 is thusmoved axially by rotationof the hand wheel. Preferably, although not necessarily, the sleeve 34 has fixed; thereon a drum 3.! to wlL'chis attached; a.-flexible-.tape 40 (Fig. 1) suitably indexed toshowthe-positicn of therod33 andthus, if'desir'ed, directlyto indicate the efiective diameter of the pulley i.

f Arrangedito axially within the hollow shaft exten'sion- .2 (Fig. 3) is a sleeve 4| coaxial with the rod33ll The sleeve U is prevented from turning elativelyto the rod. 33 byafpin 42 which entersa slot in theend-of the sleeve and which also limits movement of the sleeve to thejleft (Fig. .3) is similarly. limitedpindtS-endnise I motion toward .bth erig htbfr a pin .43.] Preferably; but'n'l ot sh nanigans sleeve is so ar Yra'ng'ed it" mayl have slight longitudinal 7 movement, iorins ta'nce of an inchrelative to therod 33. In the latter case it-is also preferablefthough not. essential, to provide springs (similar to spring fl Figs. .22 and 23) at opposite ends of'sleeve filwhich tend yieldabl y to Y hold the sleeve inia mid-position at which its.

. ends do not abut eithenpin .42or'43.

Fixed more s ee e? or integral'therewith, as may be preferred; is a worm H of leit-l mndpitch and al-worm 45 0f right-hand pitch. these worms ibeing separated by a blankspace 5B of suchlength and contour as to accommodate the periphery of the wormwheel 22, so that when the wormwheel 2! occupies'this space it engages neitherof the worms for 45; m worm wheel 22. has teeth of such design thatxitjmay operatively mesh with either of the worm-sl 'and 45 alternatively, accor-ding to the setting of the rod the worm wheel and either of the worms 44 or 415 respectively with which it may be engaged, thus constituting a. pair ofcomplemental helicalgears. Fig. 3' shows the pulley parts as arranged to provide the minimum 'eiTective diameter and with the worm i5 iully'ehgaged'with the worm wheel 22 in to cause the disk '1 to 'move along the shaft so as te -increase the effective diameter of thepulley. 1 harming to Figs. e t 21'l-nclusivef-Figs; 6 a 1 show the partsdiagrammatically-with the worm '22 occupying the neutral' "space '46 inter- At its rear or inner end this shaft left moves thesleeve 45; b

moved so as to pull the rod 33 to thelleft (Fig.6)

the amount of such movement: depending :upon the extent to which .it'is" desired to'ichange the effective diameter of the pulley, and being visually indicated by the index device 48. *For example; assuming that it is desired to make the diameter as large as possible, the rod 33 is moved-to the maximum extent to'the left -thu bringing the parts .to the relative positions'illustrated in Figs. 7 and 15: where the wheel'22 meshes with the non-,

rotatahlevworm' l's neaigtheiright-hand end por tion-ofthe latter: --It*being assumed'thiat the shaft 3 and thexpulley l' are rotating, and that the partsghave been-positioned as shown in Figs. 7 and lithebodily. rotation oft-he support 11, with the shaft? causes; the worm wheel'zz to revclve about'the axis cf thenon-rotatable rod 33 in a circular orbit, I The travel of the driven drive worm 54 results in a slow counterclockwise rotation-oi the wheel 22 (Fig. '7) and this causes a clockwise rctaticn of the worm wheel?! (Hg. 15) and a similar slowfrota ti on of pinion Stand internalgearlfi. This turns th sleeve ISKF-igQS) in a clockwise direction relative the to shait 22 and as the thread M is a right-hand thread, the

disk l" is thus moved, axially along the shaft in a direction such as to approach the-disk 6. Since the worm wheel 22 is carried by the support I? and ince the latter is constrained tomove axis lly along the shaft with the disk 3',- the worm 2'2 thus bod moved slowly: to the left until ventually it disengages the worm and-occupies the 7 the shaft 1 2 cularorbit bodily about the non-rotating 'righthand worm 45 and is .thus'causedto turn slowly in a clockwisedirection, and by means of the gear train, causes the disk I to turn ina-counterclocki wise'direction relative to shaft 2,thus.unscrewing' the sleeve 13 along the threadedportionl of This separates the shells fi and'le and decreases thelefiectivediameter of the pulley, This" movement continues until, by the travel of the support IT: axially along zthe. shaft 2,1 the worm wheel 22 disengages the worm '45 and again occupies the neutral position' lli and further rotation of theidisk I. ceases; 'By mounting the worms 1 44 and 45 upon the sleeve M as abovedescribed with provision'ior' slight'axial movement relative to rod.' 22,' it becomes'possible to insure'proper 1' engagement and:disengag ementi of the worms and-worm wheelwithoutresort to extreme accuj racy; of the parts -'suchias' might otherwisebe ,wheel 22 inthis .crbit while in mesh with the Q a It will bencted that the extentxofadjustment of :the pulleydependshppn the, initial settingof] the rod 33, that is tosay, thedistanceyto which the worm wheel 22 has been moved-relativeto the inner end ,of one-orthe othero f'theworm's d 4,andj l5. By properly indexingthe flexible band lflg carried by the drum 39, the operator may merely turn the wheelin; one or the other directionuntil th'e properjnumeralfor other index character appears at the pointer observation] andmay then be assured thatthe power derived from the motor;wi1l; automatically change the "pulley, diameterto the desired degree andjthat neutral space d5. During the" above-described of wheel 22 to the to the left, its movement in this dire ion being limited-by engagement-of pinf-Z with he .inner end of the slot in the sleeve GI ;a though the rotation-producing pressure'between the teeth of theworm and wheel operation the bodily movern tends move the sleeve in the opposite direction. Thus, during-the approachcf; the worm wheel 22 r toward the neutral space 6-5, the final contact; of the teeth of the worm 44 with the teeth of the wheel after driving has actually ceased, causes the sleeve ll quickly to move to the right (assisted in such. movement bytheleft-hand spring 41 it the letter he psovidedl therebyfreely clearing the teeth of the worm and wheeland assuring a final locatioi'rc-f the worm wheel substantially at the middle of the neutral 1 space. As soc-n as the worm wheel- 32 disengages the worm Ge,- further rotation of the wheel 22 about its own axis ceases of-the pully l is being correspondingly increased 7 so that if these pulleys are embraced by an ende when-such diameterhas been reachedchange will'automatically ceasel V 7 I In the arrangement illustrated inFig. 2-, wherein two pulleys I and I? aregemployed the second,

pulley I is mounted upon 'a shaft z which carries a belt pulley llLtthe shaft 2'5 being mounted 'in bearing 'in a bracket 9 supportedby the frame of the. motor! and being parallel to the, shaft} whichcarries pulley I. Theouter or rightehand end of the adjustingrod 33 of the pulley l carries Ia rigid bracket arm 41' which is also, secured to the righthand end o'f the adjusting rod 33 of the pulley |?',fit being noted'however, that the T v pulleys l and l are reversely arranged upon their respective shafts, The result. of this reverse-ar rangement is thatwhen the rod 33 is moved 'to the right (Fig.; 2) for-example, the rod 33? is likewise-moved tothe'righuand the left-hand pitchgworm of-the pulley-I ispbrought into mesh" with" its corresponding; worm wheel, 22, while in the pulley device It. the right-hand pitch worm would correspondingly be engaged with the worm wheel. Thug-as j the 'effective diameter of the I pulley, lisbeing decreased,*the effective diameter lessbelt, the beltwillremain taut regardlessof; the,

and-the disk l remains stationary relative to the shaft J. By reason of vthe worm' and wheel screw gearing between the disk l and the wheel 22, the disk 1 is locked inany position to which it maybe adjusted, andl'frictic-nal action h-Lthe belt upon the shell! cannot turn the disk leven though thewheel 22i occupy'the' neutral position between the two worms'fl l anclt.

If new it be desired to reduce the effective di: ameter oi the pulley, the reverse operation takes place, the wheel 33 beingso turned as to move the rod 83 to the right (Fig. 5) so as to carry worm 65 fromthe position of Fig. 10 to that of Fig. 11. 'As the pulley continues to rotate in the variation in' 'diameter ofthe individualpulleysl, I

With this arrangement the motorf l maybe a-{constant speed motor-and yet the pulley l0 may be, driven at speeds which vary ,widely',and thespeed= of the pulley lil maybe variedwithout stopping I the motor 4 e y ;by rotation-of the-hand wheel38. I, i

, .QReferringtoFigs. 22 are 23 wherein a mt- 1; I

fied construction is diagrammatically illustrated,

the character t6? represents a sleeve correspond? ing generally to the sleeve above described and' which is mounted upon the longitudinally mov-' a able adjusting rod 33, this sleeve 46 being some-' what longer than the sleeve and having the 0pclockwise direction; the Wheel22 revolves in' aiciropposite'end :portions of. the sleeve spaced mlationandfurther apaznt'zthan' the worms A and .44 -.abov,e,descr-ibed. Aszillustrated, :each end of .thesleeve .46? is provided with a longitudinal slot, theseslotsreceivirig pins Hand "43 bymeans of which thesleeve'is prevented Irom tu'rningrelative to :the' -rod .38, .although allowed :to have a slightlongitudinal -movement relative-21:0 .the

rod. As illustrated a coiled compressioncspring M' islarranged .at ach endofithe sleeve, these springs abutting collars fixed to the and 133:.a1'1d.

worm wheels'fl andifl areprovided, each' being designed for engagement withlone of the Worms by a ropr ate mechanism whereby when either 325,598 positely pitched-worms d l .and:.4'5 ;secured tho the r of rotation to the rod 33 atheproperdirection, to provide the: desired relative angular ve locity of the wormselll and 45 withrrespect to the angular velocity ofthe'wormiwheel 21 in revolving abouttheworm axis.

. While certain desirable embodim nts. of the invention have ibeen illustrated :by way'.of-.exam pie, iti'is t0.:be understood that the inventiontis not necessarily limited to "the precise arrangements. shown, and in particular that :the inven tion is notnecessarily limited in the employment of apulleysuch .asl-disclose'd-in theipatent to W'hitcomb above referred to, :but is applicable-to variable'speed pulleys oi othertypes.

'Weclaim: I

complemental helical gear elements, a rotary respectively. These worm wheels are connected support coaxial with one of said :gear elements,-

the second .of said .gear element's' being carried by said rotary support,csaid second gear element, when it meshes with the first, being thereby 7 caused to rotate about its own axis, means opis turne'd, its mdtion'is transmitted tothe inter- I n'al gear I 5." As' h'ere shown, merely by way 0f example; the-wheels 22 and 22 are moun ted on shafts 21 and 2 journaled' in t'he "movable support H and the shafts 1 1 and ZWFareprovided with bevel gears 2 6 and 28, respectively, which engage conresponding bevel gears' fixed to a meshes with the internal gear 15.- 7

shaft'ls provided With-a pinidii 31 The spacing of the wormwheels 22'P'and2'2-is such that they f'may occupy a" neutral position;

as shown injFigi 22 between the worms -44 a-ndd l5 s such that neither worm wheel engages its corresponding worm,'*b1'rt by longi tudinal "movement of ;the"rod 33 either worm "wheel' alternati-ve-ly may be caused to engage its oomplemental worm. "The operation of this. modified arrangement is i-n othefr respects similar to that above deL- but it avoids the; use of a-'-worm wheel mash cut' to engage wormsof opposite Y element being capable of limited motion axially erati'v'e in response to rotation of saidsecond gear element about its own axis to move'the support bodily in a di-rectionsuch as'ultimately to disengage the gear elements, the first-named gear and moving axially to one limit of its path, in

response to such bodily movement of th sup ments.

port, said direction being opposite to that; in

between the teeth of the iritermeshing gear ele- 2. Power transmission mechanism comprising a worm, a carrier which revolves about the axis ofthe \vorm,;a won'n wheel mounted on the carrier and which, when it mesheswith the worm, isthereby caused to rotate about its own axis in response to the motion of revolution of the carrier, means operative 'in 'response to rotation of the worm wheel tomovethe carrier bodily in a direction such as to cause the 'worm wheel In 24 a washer slightmodification s mus trated wherein the leeve 45 corresponding to the sleeve 46 above deseribed, is mounted on 'the longitudinally movable 'rod 83 and is provided withoppositely pitched worms 44 and 45 at its oppositeends, these worms being designed for alternative engagement with the Worm wheel 24 eerresponding'to the worm wheel 21 above de-- to disengagethe worm,- the worm being capable of limited motion axially, and moving'axiallyto one limit of its path ofmotion in response to such-bodily movement of the-carriage, such movement of the worm'bei'ng'in the direction opposite to that in which it tends to move in response to the rotative pressurebetween the scribed. .In this instance the sleeve "46 -is'-pro 3 vided with a key or spline which engages a longitu'dinal splineway"33 in the rod The sleeve is also provided with a ci-rcumferentially grooved cellar M which receives the iorked endiof an actuating lever 88 whereby the sleeve "may engage the worm wheel 21* with the worms 4 and 46 at the will ot the -ope r-ator.- In this-arrangement it} is contemplated that the rod tZ-l teeth of the engaging worm and wheel.

3. Power t-ransmisslonmechanismcomprising a pair of axially spaced, oppositely pitched coaxial worms, a supporting sleeve to which-said worms are fixed, a rodcoa x'ial with said supportbe longitudinally in ordera ltefnativelyj to a maybe rotated in either direction at will 'by appropriate mechanism, for example, a reversible electric motor and that the rotation of the worm wheel 21*- about its own air-is will'result from the dilferen-tial angular velocity of the worm wheel 21: in 'revolvingabout the axis'of the rod 33 and the angular velocity of the rod 33 itself. By this arrangement'th'e mechanism remains operative for the intendedpurpose, even though the shaft 2 be reversely driven; since itis thus ing sleeve, connecting means so uniting the red and sleeve that the sleeve is capable ofilimited axial movernent along the rod but is prevented from turning relatively to the rod, a Worm wheel designed to cooperatewith'each of said worms alternatively, the wormwheel, when disengaged ir'om' both worms; occupying the space between them, manually actuata'ble means operativeto move the 'rod' therebyto mesh either of said worms withthe worrn wheel :to the desired degree at will, and means actuatable by rotation of the worm wheel about its own axis tomove the Worm wheel'slowly andrbodily toward the space he- I tweenltheworms thereby ultimately to disengage always possible, by" imparting the proper speed the worm wheel from its'driving worm.

. PREST N vnnzrobius.

1s. MOORE.

1. Power transmission mechanism comprising i 

